A misdiagnosis that causes a family to sell their parent’s home and move them to a memory care facility is serious business. Beware – things are not always what they seem.

Have you been kept awake by someone snoring loudly, holding their breath, and then gasping for air? I experienced this with a family member, and I counted the seconds between breaths…40 or 50 seconds long! It scared me, but I did not realize the significance of this until, years later, other symptoms arose.

Recently, this person was periodically exhibiting signs of dementia, and the doctor told me it was Alzheimer’s. However, I witnessed a cyclical pattern, or “episodes”. I explained how everything was completely normal, and then suddenly, the person did not recognize me. Fearing a stroke, emergency rooms visits followed these episodes. Subsequently, tests results revealed critically low blood-oxygen levels. My relative was referred to a sleep clinic and the doctor’s suspicion was confirmed: Sleep Apnea!

Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. It causes oxygen deprivation to the brain and the side effects can mimic dementia.